AC 30 replica

[Hargestbatman]

Hi to all

I can see there are some very clever and knowing people on this site. i really need you help. I want to build a vox AC 30 valve amp replica with top boost, tremelo, reverb etc. Its for my brother who is a great guitar player. i only know a little about electronics but im not too bad with a soldering iron. looking for full schematics and more importantly a full layout diagram, suggestions, advise.

cheers in advance
 

[kagliostro]

Doug has his own version of the AC30 but not the complete amp you are looking for

the only full AC30 clone I know is the Weber 6V30 (they have also the L shape chassis and combo or head cabinet)





Franco

[eleventeen]

Free advice: In my opinion an AC-30 is very solidly in the "not my first project" category. I mean, just look at Kag's diagram. Look at the number of parts, talking about resistors and caps on the parts board. These amps have a very large parts count. Go to Doug's library and compare it to say a Twin Reverb. They both have ten tubes and forgetting for a moment the two channels of a Twin, about the same number of knobs. Now maybe it would be different if you bought and assembled the parts from a kit.


It's a rather complex first project. At the risk of being pessimistic; if you don't get it working right it's worth essentially nothing and he'll never use it.


That said, I sincerely wish you good luck if you go for it anyway.

[Hargestbatman]

what about the hoffman ac 30 and add the reverb kit in some how? are there plans for a merged one of those. i think he would prefer reverb over tremelo.

 

[pompeiisneaks]

I built the Hoffman AC30 as my first project, and it worked but I definitely had some difficulty with it.  Adding a 1 tube reverb shouldn't be excessively hard but again, adds another tube and some more components that you'll need to add on to some board aside from Dougs. 

It's your call, but if your brother uses outboard effects, there are a ton of really great reverbs (I use the TC Electronic Hall of Fame and love it) and you could just build the hoffman one, but again, whatever you feel is right for your brother. 

~Phil

[Hargestbatman]

cheers guys for the advice, think ill just stick to the hoffman ac 30 kit set. one tweak i would like to do is to use 2 x 10 inch speakers. will that be a problem with that kit?

[pnadora]

If you choose a speaker combination that will result in a similar load on the output transformer you should be good. :)

[hesamadman]

There are multiple ways to add reverb. Tremolo is even easier. It is however a very in depth build. You might want to check out Sluckeys amps to get an idea. You may even decide that you can achieve what you want for your brother by building a different amp even. As far as speakers, 10's will be fine assuming the wattage rating will amount over 30 watts.

[G._Hoffman]

Having just (mostly) finished up an AC30, DEFINITELY not in the "my first project" category.  It is stupidly complicated.



Gabriel